My name is David Keller,
and I will be writing articles about airline timetable collecting.
I have been collecting airline timetables for over 27 years, and I have
a fairly large collection of timetables from US carriers from the past
33 years or so. I will start by answering some of the questions that
I have been asked frequently over the years.

What is the attraction of
airline timetables to collectors?

There are two main
characteristics of airline timetables that make them attractive to collectors.
First of all, there are the visual aesthetics (appearance) of a timetable,
including the cover design, photos (both on the cover and within the timetable),
logos, and advertisements. Secondly, there is the historical aspect
of a timetable (the information contained within), basically comprised
by the flight info, fare data (if presented), and route map. (Although
a route map can certainly be interesting from an aesthetic point of view
as well!) As soon as a given timetable is superceded by a newer edition,
that timetable becomes a part of the historical record of airline history.

Most collectors’
interest in timetables is actually a combination of those two factors,
rather than being strictly one or the other. While I don’t think
I’ve ever met anyone that collected timetables solely for their visual
appeal, I also don’t think that I’ve met any that don’t find their head
being turned by an attractive issue on occasion.

Why do people collect
airline timetables?

There is no one
single reason that individuals become interested in collecting airline
timetables – there are probably as many reasons as there are individual
collectors. Many collectors have been in the airline industry (either currently
or in the past) or had close friends or relatives in the industry, while
others (like myself), became interested simply by wondering where all of
these airplanes were coming from and going to.

What are airline timetable
collectors’ goals?

Collectors run
the gambit from wanting a copy of every airline timetable ever printed,
to those who want a single issue to commemorate a special occasion.
(OK, so maybe a single timetable doesn’t rate as a “collection” by itself,
but it is usually part of a larger collection of airline memorabilia.)
I know collectors who collect only specific airlines, and those who want
as many different airlines as possible. Some collect airlines from
one or more specific countries (most frequently from the US), while others
collect on a global scale. Additionally, some want every timetable
issued for a given period of time (which may be from Day One to the present),
others only want one per year (or even every few years), and still others
want merely a single issue for any given airline. Most airline timetable
collectors’ goals are some combination of these factors, and I don’t think
I’ve ever met 2 collectors with the exact same collecting goals.

What steps can be taken
to preserve timetables?

The prime enemies
of airline timetables are water, insects, light (especially sunlight),
handling, and time. I think that the first line of defense for timetables
is to protect them with plastic sleeves. This serves as some protection
against moisture, and I believe that it will greatly reduce the prospects
for insect damage. (Most of the insect-damaged items I have seen
appear to have been stored together, and it looks like the insects simply
ate their way through one and onto the next.) To go a step further,
zipper-top sleeves (like sandwich bags) are available, which offer even
more protection than the more common open-top sleeves. (Confession
– I do not have all of my timetables in sleeves at this point, but I’m
getting there.) An additional note about timetable sleeves – it is
my understanding that most plastic sleeves have some sort of acidic residue
(left over from the manufacturing process) that will eventually degrade
paper. It is possible to purchase acid-free sleeves, but last time
I checked they were about 50 cents each, which is over 10 times the price
of “regular” sleeves. (I do not know of anyone using these acid-free
sleeves for airline timetables.)

The next step to
preserving timetables is to store them in a dark place. Light tends
to fade the ink and also degrade the paper, and sunlight does both of these
much faster than artificial lighting. I use both metal filing cabinets
and cardboard boxes to store timetables, although my personal collection
is all in the metal cabinets. (I believe that it is better to store timetables
in a metal cabinet than a cardboard box, again for protection against insect
damage.) If you purchase used filing cabinets as I do, I recommend
taking the time to clean them thoroughly before use.

I do not recommend basements
as a place to store timetables, as they tend to be cool and damp, which
also leads to insect and mildew damage. Additionally, basements have a
tendency to flood now and then, and I have seen many examples of very nice
timetables turned to trash due to a flooded basement. If you do store items
in the basement, I have 2 suggestions: First, store them in something that
is air- and water-tight. Secondly, place them in a location that is elevated
above the floor, since many basement floods are only a few inches deep.

Common sense in
the handling of timetables will go a long way in preserving them.
A few items of note: It is advisable to avoid handling timetables in warm,
humid conditions, as even a little perspiration on the hands will result
in yellowish-brown spots appearing on the paper in the future. Also,
on “double-fold” timetables (older timetables that were stapled in the
middle, folded, then folded again), do not reverse the fold in an effort
to make the timetable lay flat, as this will cause stress tears in the
paper at the fold. (Image below shows a very nice timetable receiving very
poor treatment.)

Also, on the new “book-style”
timetables, where the pages are glued in rather than stapled, be careful
not to open the timetable too wide, or pages will frequently detach.

A little side note here
- while nearly all dealers at collectible shows are more than willing to
allow prospective customers to remove an item from its protective sleeve
and look through it, please have the courtesy to treat the item
with utmost care. (Bear in mind that you may be the first person to unfold
the item in 10, 20, or even 50 years!) Although not a frequent occurrance,
I have had individuals who handled my items with complete disregard for
the fact that a timetable needs to be treated with more care than a pet
rock! (At a recent show, one fellow was looking for some beginning and
ending dates of a certain service. I had the issues at the show, which
he poured over, bending and folding as he saw fit. After convincing
himself that these were the issues he wanted, he decided not to buy them
because they weren't in good enough condition, but asked me to let him
know when I acquired better copies. I hope he isn't holding his breath!)

Not much can be
done about the effects of time. Older timetables that were made with
good quality paper will hold up for a long time. I have many timetables
from the late 60’s and older that are in absolutely wonderful condition,
while I worry that the timetables that are currently being produced may
disintegrate before they expire! (In all fairness, timetables were meant
to be disposable items - we timetable collectors are fortunate that they
didn't make them that way many years ago!)

Down the road, I will feature
some timetables that I believe will be of interest to many collectors.
Here are some of the timetables for which I will post scans and related
information:

First 747 issues for US
carriers.Merger issues.Final issues for merged
and bankrupted carriers.Inaugural issues for new
carriers.Strike issues.Color scheme change issues.